I have been looking forward to sharing this one for about, ohhh…forever. The work I did for the team at 2tarts Bakery in New Braunfels, Texas, is one of my favorite projects to date and definitely my favorite from this year. Owned by sisters Ashley and April, 2tarts is a bakery after my own heart (all bakeries are after my heart, let’s be honest). Using their family recipes and real ingredients (think sugar, real butter, whole milk) they create amazing tarts, creative wedding cakes, and delicious cookies along with some killer coffee – all served in their quaint and quirky downtown New Braunfels shop. The “tarts,” as their team members are called, are serious about sweets. They’ve put themselves on the map both locally and nationally with their talent, service and commitment to local community. When they approached me about refreshing their branding to be a little less cutesy and truer to their own tastes, I didn’t think twice about jumping in. They not only understood where they wanted to go as a brand, they were excited to push it beyond the typical “bakery” vibe.

Being inspired by the past and giving the brand a retro-Americana feel was very in line with their personal styles beyond the cake counter. It also fit with the back to basics style of their approach to baking. I started by diving into 50’s kitchen kitsch and lots of vintage cookbooks to start building the look and feel. The hand drawn food illustrations were are fun way to incorporate a quirky element and bring in the style of 50’s food drawings. We worked on an eclectic mix of patterns that worked well both together and alone so they could have some flexibility within their branding materials.

I was blown away when they started sending me photos of the shop and all of their new pieces. I got tears in my eyes (I know, I am a cheeseball) seeing the illustrations looking so perfectly cute on the side of their beloved shop. I am so proud to have had the opportunity to work with such a fun, talented group of people. It truly was sweeter than I could have imagined. Congrats on your rebrand, 2tarts!

 

Photos courtesy of 2tarts bakery, Rachel Hall Photography and Honey Gem Creative.

 

 

I am booking my last spots for 2016. If you’re thinking of a rebrand for 2017, don’t wait until the end of the year to get on the schedule!